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Retired
CAHS Teacher Pens First Novel
Corry Evening Journal, September 13, 2003, by Erin Flaherty
The invention
of Internet chatrooms has proven to be a very useful tool
for retired Corry Area High School English teacher Richard
Pelc.
It inspired
him to co-author his first book, a romance novel titled LOL-Love
Online, and it is also where he met his co-author and friend,
Leah Kochanowitz.
In 1998,
Pelc was teaching "The Diary of Anne Frank" to his
high school English class and he often logged on to the Internet
to find more specific information on the Holocaust.
While
in a chatroom, he met a Jewish woman from Israel.
Kochanowitz,
46, who is originally from New York City, provided Pelc with
useful information for his class.
After
some time, the two became friends and realized they both had
an interest in writing a book together.
The duo
decided to write a romance novel about a couple that begin
a relationship online.
"One
would write a chapter and e-mail it to the other person,"
explained Pelc about the writing process. "It would then
be edited and we'd give each other suggestions."
This went
back and forth for approximately one year.
Just before
the book was finished, Pelc and Kochanowitz had a chance to
meet face-to-face.
Kochanowitz
was flying into New York City to visit family and Pelc and
his wife, Linda, decided to make the trip.
They saw
each other for the first time in a New York City park. During
a discussion in a New York City restaurant, Pelc and Kochanowitz
discussed an ending and agreed on the title of the book.
The 479-page
book was complete. Now it had to somehow get published.
Again,
Pelc turned to the Internet and began looking up online publishing
companies.
Not too
long afterward he found a company, PublishAmerica, which is
based out of Maryland.
The company
offered to publish the book on a "print on demand"
basis and the first copy was released on Aug. 23 of this year.
"I
was surprised to see how big it was," Pelc said about
the first time he saw the finished product. "It was a
natural excitement."
Pelc said
he and Kochanowitz told each other even if they were the only
ones who ever saw the book, it would be worth it.
"It's
something I always wanted to do," he said.
The main
characters in the book are Michael Hargest, a divorced and
lonely man, and Talia Horton, a widow. They meet online and
are both searching for someone with whom they can share their
frustrations and joys. They overcome many obstacles including
distance, jobs, and family before the love they feel can be
totally fulfilled.
The book
is currently available at the Erie Book Store, 137 E. 13th
St. and online at www.publishamerica.com, BN.com, Borders.com,
and Amazon.com.
Pelc is
available to speak at local functions or meetings about his
experience writing this book.
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